Food, fun mark New Year festivities

The week began on a different note.Festive fervour, new clothes and delectable delicacies were the highlights of many homes as various communities celebrated their new year on Monday.

TNN | Updated: Apr 1, 2014, 03:06 IST

AHMEDABAD: The week began on a different note. Festive fervour, new clothes and delectable delicacies were the highlights of many homes as various communities celebrated their new year on Monday.
While Marathi celebrated Gudi Padwa, Kannadigas and Andhrites held Ugadi festivities on Monday, Hindu devotees started a nine-day long Chaitri Navratri celebration. On Tuesday, Sindhi community will observe Cheti Chand. For Odiya, the day will mark Utkal Divas, the foundation day of Odisha.

"The auspicious day is made special with delicacies as now many of our neighbours also join in," said Anagha Tambe, a teacher living in Vastrapur. She said that she along with her family members placed the Gudi (a bamboo stick covered by a sari and a utensil) near the doorstep and prayed for the good year. According to the family elders, the gudi not only signifies the dand (staff) of Brahma to mark the day where he created the universe, but also the victory of good over evil.

The Shakti temples in the city including the Kali temple at Bhadra were abuzz with the devotees offering prayers to the feminine power. "For devotees, this Navratri holds even more significance than the one that comes in Ashwin as it is the time for penance and devotion to attain the blessings of the benign devi. Many observe fast all nine days," said Alok Joshi, a priest with a temple in Naranpura.

A major celebration for Ugadi, signifying beginning of the new year, took place at Shri Balaji Temple on SG Road on Monday where hundreds of devotees sought the divine blessings for the auspicious beginnings of the year. The Kashmiris also celebrated Navreh with pomp both on Sunday and Monday as they offered Navreh Thal and Panchang of the new year to the deity at their residences and performed puja.

The Sindhi community members said that several processions will mark Cheti Chand, the birth anniversary of Jhulelal, on Tuesday especially in areas like Sardarnagar, Gomtipur and Naroda. The Odiya Samaj has arranged for a festive celebration at Gandhinagar on Tuesday evening.

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